Design Auditor
Performs systematic 12-category UI/UX audits, detects AI-generated slop patterns, validates WCAG color contrast, and checks design system token compliance. Produces three independent grades: Design (A-F), AI Slop (A-F), and Accessibility (A-F).
Core Capabilities
- Full design audit — score 12 weighted categories in five passes into a Design grade with prioritized recommendations and baseline comparison.
- AI slop detection — flag visual, copy, and structural slop in HTML/CSS with confidence scores and per-finding remediation.
- Accessibility audit — WCAG color-contrast checking (AA/AAA) with closest-compliant-color suggestions.
- Design-system compliance — detect hardcoded colors, spacing, fonts, radii, shadows, z-indices, and transitions that deviate from tokens; report compliance percentage.
- Three independent grades — Design (weighted aggregate), AI Slop (inverted), Accessibility (WCAG), each A–F.
- Operating system — 10 design principles, fix-session rules with a risk accumulator, and CI/CD gating.
When to Use
- Reviewing a UI/UX design for quality, originality, and accessibility.
- Detecting AI-generated slop patterns in HTML/CSS.
- Validating WCAG color contrast or design-token adherence.
- Gating deployments or PRs on minimum compliance scores.
Clarify First
Before running the audit, confirm these inputs. If any is unknown or vague, ASK — do not assume:
- [ ] Audit type — full design score, AI-slop detection, contrast check, or token compliance (selects
design_scorer.pyvsai_slop_detector.pyvscolor_contrast_checker.pyvsdesign_system_validator.py) - [ ] Input artifacts — the findings JSON, HTML/CSS, color pairs, or design-token file (the input each tool requires)
- [ ] Conformance level / threshold — WCAG AA vs AAA, slop confidence threshold, and the minimum passing grade (sets
--level,--threshold, and the gate)
Stop rule: ask only the 2-3 that most change the output. If the user says "just draft it," proceed and list your assumptions at the top of the artifact.
Tools
| Tool | Purpose | Command |
|------|---------|---------|
| design_scorer.py | Score 12-category audit findings into three grades | python scripts/design_scorer.py --input findings.json --output report.json --verbose |
| ai_slop_detector.py | Detect AI-generated slop in HTML/CSS | python scripts/ai_slop_detector.py --input page.html --css styles.css --threshold 0.6 |
| color_contrast_checker.py | Check WCAG color contrast (single/batch) | python scripts/color_contrast_checker.py --input color-pairs.json --level AA --suggest-fixes |
| design_system_validator.py | Validate CSS against design tokens | python scripts/design_system_validator.py --tokens tokens.json --input src/styles/ |
All tools support --format json|text and --output for file writing.
References
Load the reference that matches the task — keep this file lean and pull detail on demand:
- references/audit-workflows-and-operations.md — quick-start commands, tools-overview table, the three workflows (full audit, slop detection, accessibility/token compliance), grade tables, the 10 design principles, fix-session rules, CI/CD integration, anti-patterns, and troubleshooting. Read when running an audit end to end.
- references/design_audit_methodology.md — systematic audit approach, heuristic evaluation, Gestalt principles, critique frameworks, and anti-patterns. Read when designing the evaluation pass.
- references/ai_slop_patterns.md — comprehensive catalog of AI-generated UI patterns and remediation guidance. Read when judging originality.
- references/accessibility_checklist.md — full WCAG 2.1 Level A/AA/AAA checklist organized by POUR with testing methodology and fixes. Read when auditing accessibility.
Scope & Limitations
Covers static design quality, AI-slop, WCAG contrast, and design-token compliance auditing for web UI (HTML/CSS). Does not run live browsers, render-test layouts, or replace manual usability research. Accessibility findings are never "Low" priority; WCAG AA is the floor.
Integration Points
| Skill | Integration |
|-------|-------------|
| senior-frontend | Design audit on component library after build |
| senior-qa | Accessibility and design regression in QA pipelines |
| code-reviewer | Attach audit findings to frontend PR reviews |
| senior-devops | Gate deployments on minimum compliance scores |
| product-team/ux-researcher | Feed findings into usability research prioritization |
Last Updated: June 2026 Version: 2.2.0